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Concrete Repair Around Your Home

By: Ed Hollicker


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Concrete is a very common, strong and long lasting material, used for driveways and other surfaces around your home. However, even the toughest surface will start to break apart over the course of time. Below you will find a list of the most common damage around your home that will require concrete repair eventually. Some you can accomplish on your own. Others will require professionals.
Minor Cracks
Minor cracks are usually a fairly simple concrete repair. Just get out a few common tools such as a chisel, small sledge, smoothing trowel, and ask your local hardware store what sort of concrete you should use for a long lasting repair of your damaged surface. Whatever you do, make sure you act fast, as constantly changing weather and people tracking all over the damage, will eventually turn minor cracks into expensive damage.
Large Cracks
Large cracks usually lead to bigger problems, and aren't always an easy concrete repair. If the cracks are wide, and/or deep, or the surface has begun to sink into the ground surrounding it - you likely have a problem with the soil located below the damaged concrete (commonly referred to as the sub-grade). In this instance, you will need to rip up all of the concrete and replace everything.
Repair Sinking Concrete
When concrete surfaces around your house begin to visibly sink into the ground surrounding them, it's normally due to the soil under the concrete not being prepared prior to installation. The soil may not have been compacted, which will cause soil settling after install, usually due to water erosion. In other situations, the concrete might have had to endure extreme pressures from excessive weight, that caused it to sink. This type of concrete repair is among the most unpleasant for a do-it-yourself home owner, due to the labor involved.
Frost Damage
Colder climates are the most destructive to concrete, and are among the most profitable damages that concrete repair professional make their money from. When you mix moist soil, underneath concrete slabs and walkways...then add freezing temperatures, your left with expanding earth pushing up through your expensive concrete finishes. This sort of damage is usually marked by large, upwardly protruding cracks in the surface of your slab. Replacing the slab, in its entirety is the only repair option.
Concrete Repairs In Your Basement
Small cracks in basement floors, or walls are a common occurrence. While they do nothing for the basement's visual appeal, they're normally not all that serious. They can easily be fixed with special epoxy products available at your local hardware store. Please keep in mind, while these are not huge problems, if you don't have them repaired they will be HUGE problems, and will likely happen in your lifetime! Skimping on any concrete repair can cost you much more down the road, if you don't take advantage of simple and cheap repairs now.
Large basement wall cracks result from the expansion of the soil surrounding the walls. This damages the structural foundation of your house, leaving it unevenly supported, which causes major problems that cost thousands of dollars. Large problems like this one, involve bringing in foundation and concrete repair specialists - not a do-it-yourself repair.

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Concrete Repair

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